The "Middle East and Terrorism" Blog was created in order to supply information about the implication of Arab countries and Iran in terrorism all over the world. Most of the articles in the blog are the result of objective scientific research or articles written by senior journalists.

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Thursday, April 12, 2018

Trump's rare opportunity - Yoav Limor

by Yoav Limor

Islamic State has already been
routed, while a balanced and sane confederation can possibly be
established in Assad's place.

The
expected American-British-French attack in Syria is intended, on the
surface, as a response to Bashar Assad's use of chemical weapons against
his people. At stake, however, is something much larger: To what extent
is the enlightened world willing to allow the "axis of evil" to run
amuck in the war-torn country on Israel's northern border and do with it
as it pleases.

Looking at the incident in question, the
international community's glance shifts between Damascus and Moscow.
When squinting we see the Syrian president and his defiant, repeated use
of chemical weapons; with a wider view we see his patron, Russia,
giving him the tailwind to act in such a manner. While no one is
planning to hit Russian targets, make no mistake: Hanging in the balance
is more than Assad, whose civil war victory has given him new life, but
the fight between global blocs and religions to determine the
boundaries of what is permitted and what is forbidden.

U.S. President Donald Trump most likely
didn't seek this clash with Russia, certainly not at the present
juncture. However, after getting rid of all the background noise, this
is precisely where he finds himself. Although the chemical weapons were
used against Syrian civilians, they were also aimed at Washington; one
year to the day of the American cruise missile attack on a Syrian
military base, Assad – under Russian protection – is again showing
America the proverbial middle finger.

Trump, who doesn't know the meaning of the
word "chump," has a rare opportunity here to make the United States the
global leader again. There is almost complete international consensus
against the use of chemical weapons, which will help rally a broad range
of forces. Some of these forces will be good willed, others will have
narrow interests in mind – such as Saudi Arabia. The Saudis have already
declared their desire to join this fight, even though their goal is
obviously not the defeat of Assad and his regime but Iran and its
expansionist regional ambitions.

Israel, too, has a central role to play in
this campaign – overt and covert. Overtly, it must step aside. If up
until the chemical attack two days ago it was clearly alone in
combatting the axis of evil in Syria, it now finds itself in the camp of
the good guys. However, similar to the Gulf War in 1991, Israel has to
be careful not to sabotage it. Covertly, it is a crucial player due to
its superior intelligence gathering capabilities in the Syrian arena,
which can help the Americans and their allies focus their attacks on the
Syrian regime and its allies.

It's doubtful that the U.S. is presently
willing to go all the way to remove the Assad regime. This stems not
only from a lack of desire to confront Moscow but from concern that it
will push Syria into a renewed cycle of civil war. From this
perspective, it would be a shame: Unlike the previous stages of the
civil war, when getting rid of Assad would have meant the ascension of
Islamic State, the situation is completely different now. ISIS has been
routed, while a balanced and sane confederation can possibly be
established.

The international community, then, not only
has the opportunity to dispense belated justice and impair a leader who
has slaughtered hundreds of thousands of his countrymen, it can also
block the nightmare scenario set to unfold in Syria, under Russian and
Iranian patronage, at the last second.

Yoav LimorSource: http://www.israelhayom.com/opinions/trumps-rare-opportunity/ Follow Middle East and Terrorism on TwitterCopyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.